Superintendent gets 2 percent pay raise

Salary of city school district leader hired in 2012 will be $188,520

Published 7:51 pm, Thursday, June 26, 2014

Schenectady schools superintendent Larry Spring speaks during a school board meeting on Saturday April 5, 2014 in Schenectady, N.Y. Schenectady High School students were out in force on Saturday morning to protest the school board's proposed elimination of the district's sports programs. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) less

Schenectady schools superintendent Larry Spring speaks during a school board meeting on Saturday April 5, 2014 in Schenectady, N.Y. Schenectady High School students were out in force on Saturday morning to ... more

The Board of Education is expected at its July 16 meeting to approve a resolution to increase Spring's salary by $3,696 to $188,520, retroactive to July 1, according to Board President Cathy Lewis and information from the district spokeswoman, Karen Corona.

The pay hike for Spring, whom the district hired with a three-year contract in June 2012, has already been agreed to by the board during a recent executive session, Lewis said.

Earlier this year, a $5.5 million deficit forced the district to propose doing away with its athletics programs, school librarians and fine arts programs among other disciplines. Protests from teachers, parents and students forced the district to drop the plans.

In April, the board unanimously approved a $164.3 million budget that increases taxes by 2.75 percent.

For the owner of a house assessed at $100,000, school taxes would go up by about $60 a year.

On Thursday, Lewis cited improvements in the district's reading scores and attendance during Spring's tenure, the reduction in special education students and his relentless advocacy and lobbying that this school year resulted in the district receiving more state aid.

"We think he's doing a terrific job, and we're making progress on district goals," said Lewis, adding that even with the "modest" pay raise, Spring's compensation isn't on par with his Capital Region counterparts. "We've got to remain somewhat competitive because Schenectady is not an easy district."

Last month, the Times Union reported that Spring ranked fifth on the list of highest paid superintendents behind L. Oliver Robinson of Shenendehowa, ($194,4060) Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard of Albany, ($193,800) D. Joseph Corr of North Colonie, ($190,000) and Angela Nagle of East Greenbush, ($189,407). Once approved, this will be Spring's second 2 percent salary hike since taking the helm at the pre-kindergarten through Grade 12 district of 10,000 students.

Meanwhile, history will be made during the school board's July 2 reorganization meeting when Dharam "Junior" Hitlall, 35, will be sworn in as the first Guyanese member of the panel. In May, the mortgage broker mounted a successful write-in campaign.